The brothers of Hopen light up the stage at the Halleluya FestivalFighting our way through the hoards of young fans waiting to get their picture taken with the band, Cecilia Music caught up with French group Hopen for an interview after a lively performance. The group, comprised of the four brothers Antoine, Camille, Armand and Charles, played before an international audience at the Halleluya Festival during World Youth Day.
You’re in the middle of a big tour around France, but this is your first time playing at WYD. How does it compare?
It has been an incredible experience. We have never played for such a diverse crowd with so many nationalities, especially here in Poland, in this great country. We are so happy to have been able to praise God in French together with the whole world. We are normally in France with 500-1000 people, and here we find ourselves with the whole world!
You are four brothers. You work together, travel together. What’s that like? Difficult at times?
It’s not difficult; in fact, it’s a great opportunity and blessing. Yes, we’re brothers, but we’re also best friends!
Our youngest brother always says, “When we need to be brothers, we are brothers. When we need to be friends, we’re friends. When we need to be coworkers, we’re coworkers. When we need to pray, we pray together. When we need to praise and adore God, we do it together. And it’s fantastic.”
Where do you get the inspiration for your songs?
We write them all together. We take our inspiration from young, contemporary music we hear on the radio, today’s music. For the lyrics we read the Bible, the Psalms, and we pray to the Holy Spirit that He give us the world. We’re inspired by the gospel, the words of Jesus Christ, and the Catholic Church. We’re very close to Pope Francis and Cardinal Barbara.
Our music is our way of speaking to Jesus. We listen to groups like Coldplay and Justin Bieber and these inspire our music, but our goal is to place our talents at the service of God and to sing for Jesus Christ!
Cecilia Team
Reporting from World Youth Day Krakow 2016
